A Moment with Erik Fleming

Host Erik Fleming speaks with four guests about urgent public issues: Jerren Chang on building civic infrastructure and "democracy renovation," Dr. Bhumika Muchhala on decolonial feminist political economy, climate justice, and sovereign debt, and Mason Donovan & Mark Kaplan on workplace policies and their new book The Parenthood Advantage. The episode explores practical reforms—from civic edu...

Host Erik Fleming interviews two Atlanta-area changemakers: Connie Di Cicco on environmental advocacy, data center impacts, and electoral engagement, and Sia Henry on restorative justice, psychedelic-assisted healing, and the Hood Exchange travel program for formerly incarcerated Black youth. This episode explores community power, policy challenges, and practical efforts to expand imagination, hea...

Host Erik Fleming speaks with historian Dr. Karlos K. Hill about the meaning of Juneteenth, the need to remember slavery honestly, and the case for a national memorial. Then program manager and author Justin Carter discusses violence prevention, the power of language, and his forthcoming book Translation: From Bigotry to Justice. The episode also includes news updates and Erik's commentary on curr...

Erik Fleming hosts a powerful episode featuring three guests: Crystal FitzSimons of the Food Research & Action Center on hunger and federal nutrition policy; Pauline Steinhorn, author of Dreaming of the River, sharing her mother and grandmother's Holocaust survival story; and Dehjah Vaughn, a PhD candidate and educator discussing Black political consciousness and education. The episode explore...

Host Erik Fleming speaks with author David Dunaway about his book A Four‑Eyed World — the surprising history, social impact, and future of eyeglasses — and explores how vision, technology and stigma shape culture and politics. Also featured is community organizer Lakeland Barnes, who discusses her work with SheWill and ReNforce to promote financial literacy, reentry support and civic engagement. T...

Professor Gloria J. Browne-Marshall introduces Martyrs Day, a new annual remembrance on July 5 to honor protesters and activists who gave their lives advancing social justice in the United States. The episode also features former Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges on racial equity and civic leadership, and Cecelia Thomas of NMAC on HIV policy, public health advocacy, and organizing to protect vital pr...

Host Erik Fleming interviews Denise Berkhalter-Miller, National Director of Communications for Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), about her Mississippi and Jackson State roots, her career in journalism and public relations, and why entrepreneurship education should be a required part of schools to build durable skills for young people. The episode also includes Erik’s election-day refle...

Host Erik Fleming speaks with Judge Steve Teske on juvenile justice reform and the school-to-prison pipeline, Dr. Jessica Kriegel on leadership and creating belief-shifting experiences, and Dr. Terri Givens on radical empathy, racial reckoning, and the political backlash following recent court decisions. The episode explores detention reform, the harms of charging youths as adults, strategies to s...

Host Erik Fleming leads a fast-moving episode featuring three guests: Dr. Tammy Greer on the implications of Louisiana v. Callais and Southern redistricting, Les Leopold discussing his new book calling for a working-class political party, and Representative Dr. Jasmine Clark on her run for Georgia’s 13th Congressional District. The show mixes policy analysis, campaign updates, and a moment-of-news...

Erik Fleming delivers a solo episode responding to the Supreme Court's recent decision that weakens protections under the Voting Rights Act, using the Louisiana case as a springboard to explain historical roots, gerrymandering, and the broader threat to Black political representation. He mixes legal context, personal reflection, and a call to action—urging listeners to stay engaged, support indepe...

Erik Fleming hosts three interviews: Dr. Adam Barsouk on practical cancer prevention from his book Outsmarting Cancer; Lorissa Rinehart on Jeanette Rankin and her pacifist biography Winning the Earthquake; and Dr. Sherice Janaye Nelson on Visibly Invisible, examining Black women’s legislative power in the Congressional Black Caucus. The episode opens with a news roundup and host appeals to support...

Host Erik Fleming interviews Dr. Ellen Bassuk, her son Daniel Schoonover, and author Susanne Antonetta about two powerful books exploring mental health, care systems, and psychiatry's troubled history. Between Two Worlds recounts a mother and son's struggle for compassionate treatment and recovery, while The Devil's Castle traces Nazi-era eugenics and its echoes in modern psychiatry. The episode b...

Host Erik Fleming sits down with political analyst Chuck Todd and Birmingham advisor Ed Fields for candid conversations about American politics, civic leadership, and the evolving New South. They discuss media independence, electoral dynamics, grassroots engagement, and the documentary "As Goes the South," highlighting how local action and storytelling shape national change.

Host Erik Fleming interviews historian Carla Kaplan about her new biography Troublemaker, exploring Jessica Mitford’s sharp humor, anti‑fascist activism, and impact on consumer rights and social justice. Also featured is Cody Nagle of Civil Survival, who shares her lived experience with addiction and incarceration and her legal work to remove barriers to employment, housing, and record relief for...

Host Erik Fleming welcomes guests Leatrice De Bruhl and W. Ralph Eubanks to discuss grief, healing, and the Mississippi Delta's history and literature. Leatrice shares her personal journey of loss and her Grace to Grieve movement, while Eubanks unpacks his new book exploring the Delta's social and cultural legacy. The episode blends personal testimony with historical insight, offering listeners in...

Host Erik Fleming interviews printmaker Robynn Smith about Print Day in May, a worldwide community printmaking event, and paleontologist Gerta Keller about her book The Last Extinction, which emphasizes massive Deccan volcanism and its lessons for modern climate risk. The episode also features a Moment of News, calls to support independent podcasting (patreon.com/amomentwitherikfleming, momenterik...

Erik Fleming hosts three powerful conversations with Kate Powell (grassroots advocacy and "menacing" elected officials), Gloria J. Browne-Marshall (A Protest History of the United States), and Dr. Ashleigh Brown-Grier (internationalization and support for HBCUs). They discuss protest strategies, voting access, protecting civil rights, and strengthening HBCUs, offering practical takeaways and calls...

Host Erik Fleming guides conversations on current events and politics: Kaivan Shroff on Democratic strategy and the Iran conflict, Louise Story and Ebony Reed on the Black–white wealth gap (15 Cents on the Dollar), and Elizabeth "Libby" Jamison on veterans and military family advocacy. The episode combines news highlights, deep reporting, and personal stories about elections, economic inequality,...

Host Erik Fleming interviews historian and filmmaker Gregory S. Cooke about his documentary Invisible Warriors, which tells the story of 600,000 African-American women who worked in factories and government during World War II, and Dedrick Asante-Muhammad of the Joint Center, who discusses racial economic equity and current policy challenges. The episode explores wartime gains, ongoing struggles f...

Host Erik Fleming interviews historian Dr. Calvin Schermerhorn about his book The Plunder of Black America, tracing how slavery, Jim Crow laws and 20th-century public policies combined to create and sustain the racial wealth gap through individual family stories and economic analysis. The episode also features reflections on the late Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr., and a discussion of remedies — inclu...

Host Erik Fleming speaks with Dr. Decoteau Irby and Dr. Ann Ishimaru about their decade-spanning book "Doing the Work of Equity Leadership for Justice and Systems," exploring how equity leaders build change, the challenges they face amid political backlash, and practical strategies for sustaining justice in schools. Later, Dr. Karlos K. Hill joins to mark 100 years of Black History Month, explaini...

Host Erik Fleming sits down with award-winning author Kelly Cervantes and nurse-researcher Dr. Monica McLemore for a powerful episode on grief, motherhood, and fighting for health equity. Cervantes shares her memoir The Luckiest and the work of remembering after loss; Dr. McLemore discusses reproductive justice, rising U.S. maternal mortality, and urgent policy changes to protect families and comm...

In this episode Erik Fleming celebrates his 61st birthday and leads a powerful conversation covering local and national news, protests, and justice. He interviews Kaylee Jade Peterson, a progressive candidate running for Congress in rural Idaho, about restoring trust in government, public lands, and economic challenges for working-class families. David Eliot, an AI researcher and author, discusses...

Erik Fleming hosts a wide-ranging episode featuring Fox contributor Leslie Marshall, Bloomberg journalist Charlie Wells, and scholar Dr. Vincent Adejumo. Conversations cover protests and arrests in Minnesota, the state of the Trump administration, millennial identity and politics, and the rise of Black nationalism and reparations. Guests share personal stories, political analysis, and practical pr...

Host Erik Fleming speaks with three guests about urgent national and local issues: Nekima Levy Armstrong on police and ICE violence and community-led demands following Renee Good’s killing in Minnesota; Dr. Kem-Laurin Lubin on ethical AI, the risks of computational bias, and design heuristics to protect human dignity; and Mishael White on his campaign for Georgia’s District 81, focusing on transpo...